Inhalator



April 11, 1950 c. A. HEISTERKAMP INHALATOR Filed Jan. 28, 1949 INVENTORATTORNEY m m a 7, w A w Patented Apr. 11, 1950 v TED FATE OFF! r2,503,732 I I .iINHALATOR --=0.har.l.es- 1A. 1:.i-Heist rka Wy cwwd, Pa,as-

; Signor wto Wyeth incorpora e Phila elphia, .-P-a., a corporation ofDelaware Application January 28, 1949, SerialNou7-3242 .2 Claims. (01..12 8-20.7.)

This invention relates to inhalators and more particularlyto that typeofsuch'device primarily adapted for use in connectionrwith the inhalation,

both oral :or nasal ,,.of penicillin or streptomycin carded followingthe administration of :the contained medicament.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numeralsindicate the same parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the medicament containing cartridge;

Fig. 2 is a like view showing the cartridge sealing caps removed;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the device completely assembled;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the valved sealing plug for thecartridge base;

Fig. 6 is an expanded perspective view of the nose or mouthpiece indisassembled relation;

Fig.7 is an enlarged sectional view of the valved sealing plug shown inFig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a modified form of the nose or mouthpiece.

The use of the device is built around the association of a mouth ornosepiece, designated as a whole by the numeral 9 and having a centralbore 10 and secondary air intake passages ll, either two or four innumber (Figs. 4 and 8), with a cartridge for containing the medicament.This cartridge comprises a short piece of tubing [2 preferably of glassor transparent plastic, open at its top end l3 and plugged at its lowerend I4 by a valved stopper 15. Such plug stopper I5 is formed of rubberor other suitable elastomer to insure snug fitting within the tube l2and is provided with an outer flange 16 which limits the inward movementof the plug stopper in the tube by seating upon the end of the tubethroughout the circumference thereof. A central air intake I! isnormally closed by a flap valve [8 which can, upon the application ofsuction or pressure, assume an open position as indicated by the dottedlines in Fig. '7.

If desired, the flange [6 may be dispensed with and the plug l5 seatedcompletely within and below the end M of the tube l2.

. In practice the cartridge is closed at its lower end by insertion ofthe plug l5 and a measured amount of the medicament dust, shown at l9,

fill diintoi the; tube 212 through its. open rend 4.8. C in ;.2il and1.24 are then applied-as. ishown ig. ;.1, 'yvhereafter the unit may beproperly ateri' lized and toreprisesv a package for themediea such bore2-5. beinaoflarger diameter at its outer end 26. A flange 21 engages theexternal periphery of the wall of the recess 22.

Flange 21 may be eliminated, if desired, and the bushing 24 seatedentirely within the recess 22.

When it is desired to use the device for inhalation, caps 20 and 2! areremoved from the tube l2 and the upper end l3 thereof inserted firmly inbore 25 of the bushing 24. Since commercial glass tubing similar to thatused for tube 12 varies in diameter, the tapering of the bore 25inwardly from the point 26 of largest diameter, together with theinherent elasticity of bushing 24, permits an interacting wedging actionbetween tube l2 and bushing 24 to hold tubes of varied diameters withinthe accepted tolerance.

When thus assembled, as shown in Fig. 3, the inhalator is ready for use.Insertion of the piece 9 into the mouth or nasal passage as is desiredfollowed by inhalation will create a suction in the tube l2 through thealigned bores l0 and 25 causing the dust I9 to move upwardly opening thevalve 18 to allow outside air to enter through bore l'l whereupon theentire dose of pulverulent medicament will be inhaled by the user,screen 23 effectively overcoming particle coherence as the dust passestherethrough. Secondary air introduced through passages H promotesturbulence and further aids in dispersal and distribution of theentrained dust.

Upon evacuation the empty tube l 2 is discarded and additional dosagesecured as desired by the successive use of new filled cartridgesinserted as described.

My device is adapted to be sold in a unitpackage in any desiredconventional container or wrapping, one nose piece being packed with oneor more charged cartridges, capped or otherwise sealed, ready forassembly with the nose piece on removal of the caps or other closures.Additional charged and capped cartridges may also be sold separately.

I claim:

1. An inhalator adapted for dispersal and distribution of therapeuticdust in the respiratory passages by inhalation which comprises a nosepiece and a medicament-containing cartridge, the nose piece having anaxial bore one end of which is of a size to receive one end of the saidcartridge with a snug fit, the cartridge being of generally cylindricaltubular form, open at the end fitting into the nose piece and closed atthe opposite end by a one-way valve arranged to admit air through thatend to the inhalator, the nose piece further being provided with atleast one radial passage admitting secondary air to the axial bore topromote turbulence of air inhaled therethrough and being provided with ascreen across the axial bore effective to overcome particle coherence ofentrained dust passing therethrough.

2. An inhalator adapted for dispersal and distribution of therapeuticdust in the respiratory passages by inhalation which comprises a nosepiece and a disposable medicament-containing cartridge, the nose piecehaving a generally tapered cylindrical form, the proximal end being of asize adapted for apposition to an exterior opening of the humanrespiratory tract, the nose piece being formed of an elastic materialand having an axial bore to admit air to the respiratory tract and atleast one radial passage to admit secondary air to the axial bore, ascreen positioned across the axial bore effective to overcome particlecoherence of entrained dust passing therethrough, an elastic bushingseated in the distal portion of the axial bore in a position to retainsaid screen, the inner bore of said bushing being alined with andforming a combination of the axial bore of the nose piece and being of asize to receive the proximal end of said cartridge with a snug slip fit,the cartridge being of a generally cylindrical tubular form of a size tofit snugly in said bushing, the proximal end of said cartridge beingopen and the distal end being closed by a pierced valved plug, the valvein said plug being a one-Way valve arranged to retain powdered materialin the cartridge when not in use and during inhalation to admit air tothe distal end of the cartridge but prevent air from issuing therefromon accidental reversal of pressure.

CHARLES A. I-IEISTERKAMP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,463,663 Bosworth July 31, 19232,470,296 Fields May 17, 1949 2,470,297 Fields May 17, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 3,726 Great Britain A. D. 1887

